It was a warm leaf-fall day, Yellowmouse was shuffling her paws anxiously. She was becoming a mentor today. The she-cat glanced over at the nursery, feeling as if moths were fluttering in her belly. She watched as Dewkit and Snowkit whined about their mother grooming them.

"I can groom myself!" Dewkit hissed.

"Look at your brother," Cloudfrost said. "See how nice and clean and calm he is. Can't you be more like him?" Yellowmouse wrinkled her nose. She had wanted Snowkit to be her apprentice, but she felt bad for Dewkit. The little she-cat was always messing up.

"All cats old enough to climb gather here for a Clan meeting!" Mossystar yowled. It's time, Yellowmouse thought, padding over to the large rock from which Mossystar made announcements.

"Today, two kits are ready to become apprentices," she said. The calico peered down at Snowkit and Dewkit.

"Snowkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Snowpaw. Your mentor will be Foxspring. I hope Foxspring passes all she knows on to you."

That means I'm mentoring Dewkit! Oh StarClan, what do I do?

Snowpaw touched his nose to Foxspring's, and she guided him away from the center of the circle. Mossystar took a deep breath.

"Dewkit, you have reached the age of six moons, and it is time for you to be apprenticed. From this day on, until you receive your warrior name, you will be known as Dewpaw. Your mentor will be Yellowmouse. I hope Yellowmouse passes all she knows on to you."

Yellowmouse stepped forward, stretching out her muzzle to touch noses with Dewpaw. But in her excitement, the little gray she-cat bounced upwards, slamming her face into Yellowmouse's maw.

Yellowmouse jumped back with a hiss of surprise as pain burst through her nose.

"Sorry!" Dewpaw squeaked, looking mortified. "I'm so sorry Yellowmouse. Are you okay?"

She's just excited, Yellowmouse thought. Don't get mad.

"I'm fine," the gray tortoiseshell tabby replied. "Just be a little more careful next time, okay?"

"Okay!" Dewpaw said. "So, are we going to go see the territory?"

By the time the tour of the territory was done, the sun was setting, and Yellowmouse was exhausted. She led Dewpaw back to camp, said goodnight, and flopped in her nest with a groan.

"That bad, huh?" her sister Yewsong asked. Yellowmouse nodded wearily.

The next morning, Yellowmouse set out again with Dewpaw.

"This time, we're learning how to hunt," Yellowmouse told her apprentice.

She showed Dewpaw the hunting crouch, but her apprentice just could not pick up on it.

"Okay, we'll try battle training." But Dewpaw just kept tripping and falling.

"I'm terrible," Dewpaw sighed.

"It's okay," Yellowmouse said. "Some cats just pick things up more slowly."

They were heading back to camp when a cry sounded from the gorge. Yellowmouse took off running, her paws thrumming on the ground. She skidded down the trail, scraping her paws and tearing her claws. When she arrived in the center of camp, she gasped.

Yewsong was lying in a growing pool of blood, bleeding from many, many wounds.

"What happened," Yellowmouse demanded of the nearest cat, who happened to be Tigerpoppy.

"She was attacked by a badger while out hunting alone," Tigerpoppy said in a worried tone.

Dewpaw appeared behind Yellowmouse. She pushed past the crowd of cats and stopped beside Blackleaf.

"Can I help?" she asked the tom.

"Get some poppy seeds from my den," Blackleaf said. "They're small and black." Dewpaw ran off while Yellowmouse crouched down beside her sister.

"You're going to be okay Yewsong," she said. "Just breathe. Dewpaw is fetching you some poppy seeds for the pain."

Dewpaw came back, three black seeds on her paw. Yewsong licked them up.

It felt like moons later when Yewsong calmed down. Her body was still and cold, and Yellowmouse felt... off. She nudged her sister, whose head just lolled to the side.

Yellowmouse wailed. "Blackleaf!" she screeched. "She's dead!"

Blackleaf, who had been fetching more herbs, dropped them and bounded over. He sniffed Yewsong's body, and then sat back, nodding solemnly.

"She is." Yellowmouse let out a loud caterwaul, tilting her head back and shrieking her discontent to StarClan.

"Dewpaw," Blackleaf said slowly. "What did you bring me."

"Poppy seeds..." Dewpaw said. "They were in a purple flower."

Blackleaf suddenly became furious. "Those are foxglove seeds! They're poisonous!"

Yellowmouse rounded on her terrified apprentice. "She's dead." She spoke lowly. "She's dead because of you."